A New Card...

I had a special request to make a birthday card for a 5 year old . The very nice woman buying it said that the little girl wasn't a girly girl and more of a nature girl. I figured that you can't get a whole lot more "Nature" than a bug. Even if he is carrying a "5" and some candles. This is how my card turned out... I hope that I got the "Nature" part right. I'd hate for the poor little girl to run screaming from her birthday card! :):):)

Happy Birthday Johanna....!

I hope that your day is wonderful and that when blowing out your candles...all your wishes come true.

A Finished Project...

Today I posted a project that I recently finished for my Etsy shop. It was a custom order...and I worried and whined about it the entire time I worked on it....but it's complete...and I love the way it turned out! So did the person who ordered it.

The bottom of the box is covered with woven black Bazzill cardstock in a basketweave pattern and sits on four black wooden balls. The inside of the box is painted bright red and the lid of the box is covered with BoBunny Poppy Red Double Dots paper. The flower on the lid is handmade of black 1/8th inch grosgrain ribbon and has a paper flower on a chipboard button trimming it. A black Mirracard tag has a rhinestone skull & crossbones(A special request) on it and the name "Kylie" is on the lower right front of the box. I'm really pleased with this box...it was worth the worry. Now on to the next one!

One More Card...

One more card redo...and I know you've seen this paper piecing before.

This was a paper piecing using an OddBirdPlanet stamp called Plain Perch. I stamped it on the paisley paper, cut it out and made a simple but decorative turtle shell from it. The paper piecing was matted a couple of times, acrylic flower buttons were added and a new card was made!

Card Redos

I apologize for rambling on about Etsy...I am definitely sure that you don't want to hear any more about it. I was just excited.

A while ago I did several paperpiecings...some were for assignments, some were for challenges...others were just for fun. I liked them a lot; but never really made a complete card out of them. So I dug them out of the box they were hiding in, added a few embellishments and finished them.

Here's the first one: This piecing was for a Linnecards Challenge called Vertigo...use circles or swirls on your card. I liked the card and paper piecing...but it needed something 3 dimensional on it. So I added Doodlebug acrylic flower buttons and an acrylic piece with the word "Fly" on it . One card completed.

Rambling...

You may think that I'm a bit preoccupied with Etsy...and you're right...I am. I'm trying to calm down about it and not be a pest...but it doesn't seem to be working. Please bear with me...I promise that I'll get better about it soon. It's very exciting to me and I'm just taking you along on my ride. :) :):)

"Treasury" on Etsy....

Etsy has a feature called "The Treasury"....you choose 12 of your favorite items from the thousands in all the Etsy stores...put them together...give your treasury a name and post it for everyone to see and admire. It's fun and it's habit forming! You can choose a theme...any theme...Merry Go Rounds...Rabbits...Travel...Socks...Rocks. No matter what you choose; when you go through Etsy's stores you'll find something to illustrate your theme. Not that making a Treasury is without frustration...everyone and their brother loves to create these little collections...so you have to be ready when it's time to make yours.
At any given time, the Treasury has hundreds of small collections going...they all have almost the same amount of time to be seen...usually about 2 days...sometimes a bit longer. As each little treasury runs through it's time...it's deleted. When the numbers go below 333...new treasuries can be added. That's when the fun starts..:) You have to be waiting at your computer to watch when the numbers go below 333...and so are over 600-700 other people...you have to be quick and type in your treasury title when the number hits 332 or you won't get your treasury seen. Can I tell you how frustrating that is? When you've watched and waited for the treasuries to open up (Sometimes for a few hours) and then miss it because you looked away or daydreamed? The daydream part is definitely me...I was somewhere pleasant in my mind and then realized that the treasury opening was long gone...sigh. Better luck next time.
But that's the fun of it...there always is a "Next time". I have gotten several Treasuries...and loved every one. It's my group of beautiful, funny, sentimental or odd things specially chosen by me...all the things that I love. Here's a link to my latest treasury I called it "Lickin' Lemons"... this time it was in Treasury West...I'm not sure what the difference is between Treasury and Treasury West...but I'm in it.
If you do go to Etsy's Treasurys...take a look at all of them...I think you'll have fun browsing through them.

A New Etsy Banner And Avatar...

I tried for a while to make my own banner for The Checkerd Rabbit Shop.....and anyone who knows me is aware of my technical ability....or maybe I should call it my lack of ability. Oh, I can do some of the stuff...but it takes forever with lots and lots of trial and error. (And frantic, tear-filled calls to friends.) Anyway...I tried to do my own banner. After a week of work...I wound up with something pretty close to what I thought I wanted. A black banner with a rabbit that I had paperpieced myself; and the shop's name in bright pastel colors. But.....the black background on my banner wasn't the same black as the black in my rabbit paper piecing. It looked like I glued it on...badly. Not sure how to fix the background problem...I figured that for a while, I'd just use it the way it was...maybe not a good idea; but I was getting frustrated. So, ready to upload the banner....I searched for the file it was in. Umm...couldn't find it. Gone. It must have been so ashamed of being my banner...it packed up and left.
To make a long story short...I gave up and bought a banner from a wonderful shop on Etsy....Erin Bradley Designs. She was creative, friendly and smart....and made my banner set for me in a few days...with the checkered rabbit in it...and no blotchy backgrounds.
I love my new banner...thank you Erin!
Here's the new banner in my shop...The Checkerd Rabbit .....please take a look and tell me what you think.

I Have An Etsy Shop....

I have an Etsy shop...called "The Checkerd Rabbit". I'm not sure how I actually decided to start it. I usually have to be dragged kicking and screaming to try anything new...especially computer-internet things. It took forever for me to conquer using my blog...now I have to figure out the entire Etsy system....sigh. But...O my....I love playing with my shop. It's like having a pretend store that I can do whatever I want with...only I sell real things...things that I've made. It was amazing to me when I sold my first few items...people actually bought MY stuff. It took me days to come down off the ceiling.

It's kind of a religious experience... I'm in heaven when I sell something...in hell when I don't...and in purgatory while I'm making things to put into the shop. Will people like these? Will they sell? Will I be stuck with enough birthday cards to send to family and friends for the next 10 years? I'll let you know how it goes...

I'm never going to be able to retire on the proceeds of my shop...but for n0w...I'm completely in it's spell. Everyone should have one... :)

Happy Mother's Day....

Happy Mother's Day (A little bit early) to all the wonderful Moms out there!

I hope that your families spoil you, pamper you...and let you know how much they love you.

Enjoy your day!

It's Spring...Time To Plant...

It's been nice and warm outside for the last couple of days....makes you think of gardens and blooming flowers and trees...vegetables growing in pots on my deck and fresh tomatoes and green peppers. So for all of us chomping at the bit to get the seeds and flowers into the ground...here's a seed packet tag that I made in honor of the gardening bug that bit me.

I may be over confident in thinking of planting watermelon...but doesn't it sound good?